Straw Hat Chase
by XFangHeartX
Summary: Summary inside. Read and review, and no flames or hate please!
1. Prologue

One Piece: Straw Hat Chase

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One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

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Summary- It's the most horrible, most outrageous, most unspeakable that has ever been committed…well, in Luffy's case. A huge eagle has stolen his most precious treasure: his beloved straw hat! Now, Luffy and the crew scramble to get it back, but with the Marines on their tail, it won't be easy. Then again, it never is for the Straw Hat crew. Will Luffy regain his hat? Why did the eagle steal it in the first place? And what is the story of this dying old man? Find out in One Piece: Straw Hat Chase!

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**Prologue**

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The sky was a deep navy blue with twinkling stars and grayish-pink clouds. The lighthouse that stood at the island's peninsula was shining bright, lighting the way for ships that were coming or going.

Walking through the streets of the town, there were two figures.

One was an elderly man with fairly dark skin, a prominent forehead, and a big nose. He is bald at the top of his head, but has long gray hair flowing down from the back of it to his shoulders, with a cropped mustache and beard. He also seemed to have a large stomach in comparison to his rather slim limbs. On his chest is a red tattoo, although it appeared obscured by his purple shirt.

He had a light purple buccaneer's coat dangling from his shoulders like a cape, frayed on the bottom with gold trimmings, as well as two lines of buttons on the front. It looked tattered, seeing as how there are holes and tears on the edges, indicating that he must've used it for a very long time. Under this coat, the old man wore a royal purple vest, as well as a blue sash tied around his waist, tucked in the let side of which was a flintlock pistol with a green gemstone in the handle. His pants have vertical orange and tan stripes on them, and each leg had a slim rope tied around it just below the knees. He wore a pair of purple shoes which seemed to be in the same shade as his vest. In his hand was an old, gnarled, wooden cane.

Waddling along behind him was a stout, Basset Hound-looking dog with orange-colored fur, a large body, and slim, stubby little legs. He looked like he had a perpetually sad expression on his wide, short face with a scar on his right brow. He has a blue nose, as well as incredibly long ears that dragged along the ground as he walked with a slim tongue that's just as long. Around the dog's neck is a pair of distinctive and elaborate pair of goggles, which were being worn on his neck like a collar.

This old man had been trying all day to get this dog away from him, but the dog wouldn't leave his side.

How could he after all they've been through?

"Quit following me," the old man growled. "You're free to go wherever you want, now."

The dog persisted in following him, much to his frustration. With an angry growl, the old man turned to face him.

"Don't you get it?" he snapped. "As of today, the Schneider Pirates are disbanded. You hear me? We're done!"

The dog whimpered.

"Besides," Schneider said, "we can't run a pirate crew if there's only two of us. There's nothing left I have to do with my life, so you can just beat it."

With that, Schneider turned and left, but the dog still followed. Noticing this, the man broke into a run, and the dog tried to keep up, but it seemed impossible with those stubby legs of his. Schneider ran as fast and far as he could through the empty town, hoping that the dog would just give up chasing him. Once he was certain that he had gotten a good enough distance, the old man stopped to catch his breath. As he turned to walk away, he saw that, somehow, the dog was sitting right there!

**Ruff!** He barked, wagging his tail happily.

"GAAAAAAAH!" Schneider screamed. "You damned mutt! Don't sneak up on an old man, like that!" He then sighed and knelt down on one knee, dropping his cane and scratching the dog's chin.

"Good grief," he said. "Listen, you. It's not that I don't appreciate your loyalty and everything you've done for me all this time…but, come on…look at yourself. You're getting up there in years, too, you know. If you keep following me, all you'll be is nothing but a burden on our travels. Seriously." He grabbed the dog by his cheeks and pulled him closer to his face. "I'm not so nice as to lug something like YOU around with me. You hear me, you useless mutt?"

The dog whimpered again.

"I mean, really," Schneider said as he stretched the dogs cheeks, "you look like such a joke."

Suddenly, two Marines appeared, walking up to the bulletin.

"Is it true?" asked one. "Are the Straw Hat Pirates really here?"

"No doubt about it," said the other. "The coast guard sighted their ship near our ports."

"They sure sound dangerous don't they?" the first asked as he stuck something on the bulletin board.

It was a wanted poster of the world's most notorious pirate captain: Monkey D. "Straw Hat" Luffy, whose bounty was 300,000,000 Berries.

"If we end up starting a fight with these guys," said the second Marine, "then there's no telling how many casualties we'd suffer from the result."

Schneider smirked, and then picked up the dog.

"Hear that, Buzz, old boy?" he asked.

"Whatever the case may be," said the first Marine, "ALL pirates must be eliminated."

"You're right," said the second. "It's our duty to see to that."

"You got that right."

"Well," said Schneider to Buzz, "I'll be seeing ya."

With that, he picked up his cane, stood up, and walked away.

"Goodbye, Buzz," he said.

Buzz just stood there, whimpering sadly while watching his master disappear around the corner.

As Schneider walked, he suddenly keels over and goes into a coughing fit. He leaned against a wall as he kept coughing and finally knelt to the ground. He pulled his palm away from his mouth and saw, to his horror, that there are specks of blood on it.

He sighed, and looked up to the starry night sky.

XXX

It was a quiet night on the _Thousand Sunny_, if one didn't count the sounds of snoring coming from the men's room and the sound of Roronoa Zoro doing his nighttime exercises before bed.

Usopp, wearing his nightgown and cap, came running out of the men's room, his hands between his legs.

"Gotta go! Gotta go!" he exclaimed.

He rushed behind the mast and opened the door behind it.

Nami and Nico Robin laid fast asleep in their beds, dreaming sweet dreams.

"Oh, Luffy," Nami muttered in her sleep, smiling. "Stop that…you're tickling me…!"

In the men's room, Monkey D. Luffy, Sanji, Tony-Tony Chopper, Brook, and Blizzard lay asleep, snoring away.

Luffy had his hat on the side of his bunk while his limbs are hanging over the sides.

"ZZZZZZZ…Nami…ZZZZZZ…meat…" he snored.

Just then, Usopp came back from his little trip to the "porcelain throne".

"It's freezing out here," the sniper said before he let out a yawn.

However, he stopped when he saw that the door was open. He could've sworn he close it behind himself when he left for the bathroom.

"What in the-" Usopp started.

**FLAP!**

He froze when he heard what sounded like the sound of beating wings. Looking up, Usopp saw what looked like the silhouette of a huge bird.

Deciding that what he saw was probably a result of being half-asleep, Usopp returned to bed, unaware of how right he was.

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Here's my rendition of the 11 One Piece movie!

Review, please!


	2. Ch 1 IT'S GONE!

**Ch. 1- IT'S GONE!**

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One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

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It was morning on the _Thousand Sunny_, home to the Straw Hat Pirates. Everybody was well rested after last night and had gone about doing their usual routine.

Zoro was on the deck, training as usual by swinging his weights.

"1,788…1,789…1,790…"

Nami is in the bathhouse, taking a bath.

Usopp is down below deck with Franky, working on yet another weapon.

Sanji is in the kitchen, making breakfast, while Brook is already there eating his.

Chopper is in the sick bay, making medicine.

Robin is in the library, reading.

Blizzard, wearing a green hoodie with the word "OKAMI" written in big yellow letters on the front, is sleeping on the deck.

As for Luffy, he was just now waking up, but when he did, he screamed like he had saw a nightmare come true.

"IT'S GONE~!"

Luffy ran around in the men's room, frantically.

"It's gone!" he cried. "It's gone! It's gone!" He came out of the room, looking panicked. It's gone!"

Blizzard looked up at Luffy, inquisitively.

_What's gone?_ Blizzard thought. _Unless you're talking about the last peanut butter biscuit, I didn't take it!_

"Where is it?" Luffy questioned.

**GACK!** Blizzard gagged as Luffy forcefully opened his mouth and reached inside.

_WHAT THE HELL?_ Blizzard thought.

"It's gone!" Luffy exclaimed before he ran off into the kitchen, where Brook and Sanji were. "It's gone! It's gone! It's gone! I can't find it!"

"Y-you can't find what- WAH!" Brook started before Luffy picked up the table, looked under it, and then dropped it before running into the next room, but not before swiping Brook's bread.

In the sick bay, Luffy jumped onto Chopper's desk, then onto the bed, and then picked Chopper's chair up and then put it down (with Chopper still in it), all while saying, "It's gone! It's gone! It's gone!"

His next stop was the bathhouse, where Nami was still bathing, and she was really in for a shock when Luffy just barged right in and started searching in the soapy, sudsy water. The hot-tempered navigator responded with a hard kick to his chin.

Luffy may be her boyfriend, but regardless, no one walks in on her while she's taking a bath.

"GET OUT!" Nami snapped.

Luffy jumped back up to his feet, as if the kick meant nothing, and just shouted, "I can't find it~!"

He ran right out, headed for the weapon storage room, where Franky and Usopp were working on this cannon, when Luffy rushed in, continuing to shout "It's gone! It's gone!"

In his agitated and frantic search for whatever it was he was looking for, Luffy stuck his head inside the cannon, and accidentally caused it to tip over and fall, destroying it.

"Damn it, Luffy!" Franky cursed.

"We've been working on this since last night!" Usopp added, crying.

Luffy had already left the room and is now in the library, flinging books off the shelves, crying, "It's gone! It's gone! It's gone! It's gone!"

Robin, who didn't seem at all disturbed by the captain's presence, simply caught the books with her Devil Fruit powers as Luffy left the room.

"It's gone! It's gone! It's GONE!" Luffy cried as he ran around Zoro, who was doing one-handed push-ups while holding a dumbbell in the other hand, and stacks of crates, barrels, and dumbbells on his feet. Luffy jumped up onto the stack, throwing Zoro off balance.

"W-whoa!" Zoro cried. "L-L-Luffy! Stop! Get down!"

**KRASH!** The tower of crates, dumbbells, barrels, and Luffy came down on Zoro, piling on both of them.

"It's gone," Luffy said, sadly.

**THUD!** A dumbbell fell and bounced off of his rubber head.

"I can't find it, anywhere," the captain said, forlorn.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?" Zoro snapped.

Luffy turned to Zoro sadly and answered, "My hat!"

"What?" Zoro asked, now concerned.

Everybody knew that aside from his crew, Luffy's hat is the most precious thing in the world to him. Finding out that it was gone was a very serious thing.

"I looked all over the ship," Luffy began, "and I can't find it."

Just then, his face lit up in realization.

"Wait!" he said. "Maybe it fell into the ocean!"

_Uh, wasn't it with you last night?_ Blizzard thought, questioningly.

Luffy pulled himself out of the pile and ran out towards the rail.

"Dammit," he cursed.

"Uh, Luffy!" Zoro called. "Wait!"

**WROING!** He stretched his neck out.

"WHERE IS IT?" He cried.

As Luffy's neck kept stretching, he slipped off the rail and fell into the water with a **SPLASH!** Blizzard attempted to catch him before then, but it was too late.

_Dammit, Luffy!_ Blizzard cursed in thought.

"You moron!" Zoro cried.

**SPLASH!** He dove into the water after his captain.

XXX

A few minutes later, Zoro came back up on deck, with Luffy, who is lying on the lawn with a waterlogged belly, dripping wet, and mourning the loss of his precious hat. Zoro had finished explaining the situation to the crew.

"So his hat is missing?" asked Sanji as he lit a cigarette. "I thought it was in our room when he was asleep, last night."

"Hmm," Brook hummed, inquisitively. "You don't suppose someone came and took it, do you?"

"That couldn't be," said Robin. "The _Sunny_ had been anchored all night in the middle of the ocean. No one could've taken it."

"Wait!" Usopp said. "I just remembered! Last night, after I came back from taking a leak, I saw what looked like some big bird flying away!"

"A big bird?" Franky repeated.

"Uh-huh," Usopp replied.

"But Luffy was asleep in the men's room, right?" Nami asked. "There's no way that a bird that size could've taken it."

"You got me there," said Usopp.

"What about Blizzard?" Chopper asked. "Even if he was asleep, he would've sensed an intruder and woke up, right away, right?"

**Grrr…! Grruff! Ruff!** Blizzard growled and barked.

"What did he say?" Usopp asked.

"He said, 'Actually, I couldn't really hear anything since you guys were snoring so much'," Chopper translated.

"Blizzard wouldn't have smelled anything, either," said Robin. "Remember? His nose got stuffed up when he got sprayed with perfume, yesterday."

**ACHOO!** Blizzard sneezed.

"Tell me something," said Brook. "Is that hat really so precious to Master Luffy?"

"Yes, it is," Chopper answered. "It's Luffy's greatest treasure. He's willing to risk life and limb for it."

"Looks like we've got no choice," said Zoro, sitting on the stairs. "Looks like we'll have to start looking, too. If the captain is looking for it, we should, as well."

"That's right," said Nami.

"Let's do this!" Usopp said.

"My…hat…!" Luffy moaned.

Nami walked up to Luffy, got down her knees, and then cradle his head in her hands.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," said Nami. "We'll find your hat for you. I promise."

**Smooch!** She gave Luffy a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Nami," said Luffy.

Nami smiled before she headed below deck.

"Blizzard!" she called. "Come!"

Blizzard followed after Nami, as did the others, ready to begin their search for their captain's hat. The crew gathered into individual vessels in the Soldier Dock System.

Nami and Blizzard took the _White Rocking Horse I_.

Sanji, Brook, and Robin took the _Mini Merry II_.

Usopp and Chopper had the _Shark Submerge III_

Franky, meanwhile, stayed behind on the _Sunny_ with Luffy, who's still waterlogged.

XXX

Out at sea, Sanji, Robin, and Brook are still searching for Luffy's hat.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Sanji called.

Nami and Blizzard pulled up beside them.

"Any luck?" the former asked.

"Nothing so far," Robin replied.

"Blizzard and I aren't having any luck either," said Nami. "He's kind of useless without his nose."

Blizzard seemed to take that into offense.

_Uh…can you say "hurtful"?_ Blizzard thought.

"N-no offense, Blizzard," said Nami, as if she heard his thoughts. "Anyway, we'll be going on ahead."

"Um…Miss Nami, I-" Brook began, but she and Blizzard were already gone.

XXX

Underwater, in the _Shark Submerge III_, Usopp and Chopper are also searching.

"So, what do you think Chopper?" asked Usopp, who is steering. "I'm telling you, I really saw something."

"Maybe you were just dreaming," Chopper said, looking through the periscope.

"But I'm telling you, I saw something!" Usopp remarked.

Chopper gasped.

"Usopp, wait! Stop!" he said. "I see something. It looks like the hull of a ship."

Chopper was right. There was indeed a ship up ahead. The _Shark Submerge III_ emerged from the water, and the ship was revealed to be a pirate ship, designed to look like a golden eagle.

"Hello~?" Chopper called as he climbed up. "Can anyone hear me?"

"H-hang on, Chopper," Usopp said. "Isn't this a little dangerous? We're boarding an unknown pirate ship!"

Suddenly, they heard a moan, alerting them to the presence of what looked like an old man, collapsed in front of the helm.

"B…Buzz…" he muttered, weakly.

"Oh, no!" Chopper cried before he and Usopp ran to his aid. "Are you okay?"

"Who's the old man?" Usopp question.

Chopper put a hoof on the man's shoulder and shook him, attempting to wake him up. He saw what looked like dried blood around his mouth and on the floor.

"Hey, get up," the little reindeer said.

He moaned and twitched a little, revealing that he is indeed still alive, much to Usopp and Chopper's surprise.

"Usopp!" Chopper said. "We gotta get this man to the _Sunny_, right away!"

"Now?" Usopp questioned. "Are you NUTS? Now's not the time for-"

"Usopp, I know, but…" Chopper began, "he needs medical treatment, immediately!"

"F…fine," Usopp said.

The elderly man coughed up some blood.

"B…Buzz…" Schneider muttered, again.

XXX

Usopp and Chopper (in Heavy Point) got back into the _Shark Submerge III_, bringing old man Schneider.

"So how is he, Chopper?" asked Usopp. "He coming around?"

"Yeah," Chopper replied as he set Schneider down in one of the seats, gently.

"Who…who are you?" asked Schneider to Chopper.

"I'm Chopper," the human-reindeer answered. "I'm a doctor."

Usopp went back outside to close the hatch, when all of a sudden, something flew over him, casting a shadow. Something big. Looking up behind himself, Usopp saw that it looked some sort of bird. An eagle, by the looks of it, wearing a pair of goggles.

"Uh…a bird?" the sniper questioned.

The eagle turned to face Usopp, causing him to gasp.

There, clamped in the bird's beak…was Luffy's hat!

"DAAAAAAAAAH!" Usopp screamed. "I KNEW IT!"

At that exclamation, the big bird flew away with Luffy's hat.

XXX

"**Guys! I found it!"**

Usopp called the others through a Mini Transponder Snail.

"**The thief is an eagle! It's flying away at an incredible speed!"**

"An eagle, huh?" Sanji asked before he tossed Brook the Mini Transponder Snail. The skeleton almost dropped it as Sanji headed back for the ship.

"So, it turns out that a bird really did steal it, huh?" Robin asked.

XXX

Back at the _Sunny_, Franky had gotten Usopp's call.

"Roger that," he said. "I just need to head to your position, right?" He then turned to Luffy, who is still lying, waterlogged on the deck.

"Hey, Luffy!" he called. "We found your hat!"

**SPURRRRRT!** Luffy spat out the water, his belly shrinking until he returned to his regular figure. The captain then excitedly jumped to his feet.

"You did?" Luffy cried as he ran to the figurehead. "Where? Where is it? WHERE?"

"Calm down," said Franky. "First off, we need to regroup with Usopp and the others!"

XXX

On the _White Rocking Horse I_, Nami and Blizzard are also on their way back.

"Got it," Nami said. "Blizzard and I will be back soon!"

_What the hell would an eagle want with Luffy's hat?_ Blizzard thought.

XXX

The _Sunny_ had just caught up with the _Shark Submerge III_, where Usopp was standing outside, holding onto its dorsal fin.

"Luffy!" Usopp called to the captain, who was standing on the figurehead. "That eagle took your hat!"

"Damn you," Luffy cursed as he grabbed his arm, prepared to stretch it out and take back his treasured hat. "How dare you take my hat- WHOA!"

**BOOM! SPLASH!** An explosion went off, shaking the ship and almost throwing Luffy off balance, and he could've sworn he heard Nami scream. He looked down to the right and saw the reason why: there was a Marine battleship behind her!

"Nami!" Sanji called. "Are you all right?"

"Sorry!" Nami apologized. "I was a little careless and the Marines spotted Blizzard and me!"

"Damn," Franky cursed. "Well, looks like we don't have a choice. Everybody, get back on board _Sunny_ and raise the sails! We gotta lose those Marines, first!"

XXX

Inside the _Shark Submerge III_, Chopper was getting Schneider out of his seat.

"Are you okay?" he asked him. "C'mon. We gotta get you on our ship, now."

Schneider grunted in pain a bit as Chopper gently picked him up.

XXX

Everyone had gathered onto the ship…except Zoro, who seemed to have mysteriously disappeared.

"Okay!" Franky exclaimed. "Soldier Dock System: Channel 0!"

As Franky switched the channels to 0, the paddles came out.

"All right!" Luffy shouted. "Full speed ahead! Follow that bird!"

With that, the _Thousand Sunny_ was propelled forward by the paddles at breakneck speed, evading the cannon-fire of the Marines.

The chase is on.

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Review, please!


	3. Ch 2 The Chase

**Ch. 2- The Chase**

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One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

* * *

The Straw Hats raced after the eagle as the Marines opened fire on them, thanks to the ship's paddle wheels. The sailors scrambled to get in order as the pirate crew made their escape.

"Dammit all!" said the Commander of the ship. "I can't believe they just evaded our shots at the blink of an eye! Where the hell is our backup? After those pirates!"

"Yes, sir!" said one of the sailors.

Meanwhile, the Straw Hats continued their chase after the eagle, who still had Luffy's hat trapped in its beak, as it flew away towards an icy glacier.

"Hey!" Usopp said. "The bird! Its headed for that glacier up ahead! You think it's trying to hide there, or something?"

"Hurry!" Luffy shouted. "We're gonna lose it if we don't speed up!"

"I got that!" Franky said. "In any case, we're going through!"

The eagle maneuvered through the glacier, avoiding any jagged ledges, all the while still holding on to Luffy's prized head-wear.

"DAAAAAAAHH~!" Usopp screamed as Franky steered the ship around the glaciers, trying to avoid crashing into the ice, but it was hard to concentrate with the sniper's shouting.

"GO RIGHT!" Usopp cried. "GO LEFT! GO RIGHT! GO LEFT! GO RIGHT! GO LEFT! GO RIGHT! GO LEFT! GO STRAIGHT AHEAD-"

"SHUT IT!" Franky snapped. "I can't concentrate!"

Blizzard clung to the railing, his face taking on a green shade, just like his hoodie.

_Oh, boy,_ the wolf-dog thought. _If this keeps up, I think I'm gonna…_

**GACK!** Blizzard gagged and covered his mouth with a paw.

It wasn't long before the eagle and the Straw Hats made it out of the glacier, only to run into an even bigger problem: they had run into a Marine blockade!

"We've been waiting for, you Straw Hat Luffy," said a Marine Vice-Admiral. "All ships! Open fire!"

**KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM!** The Marines fired their cannons at the _Sunny_ while the eagle kept flying away.

"Bastards!" Sanji cursed as he jumped up and **THWAM!** He kicked a cannonball away like it was a regular soccer ball.

"Cien Fleur," Robin said. "Defense!"

**SHOOM!** A net of a hundred arms appeared between the main sail and the deck. It blocked two cannonballs, as well as caught Luffy (in Gum-Gum Balloon form) as a third bounced off of his inflated belly.

"Chew on this!" Usopp said as he pulled out his Kabuto. "Certain Death…SUPER SMOKE STAR!"

**TWANG! BOOM!** A smoke bomb went off on one of the battleships, creating a humungous plume of smoke that shrouded the other ships.

"Ha-ha!" Usopp laughed. "How's that!"

**TMP! TMP!** Luffy and Sanji landed on the deck.

"Let's keep moving!" the captain ordered.

At that, the _Sunny_ continued to advance.

"**KOFF! KOFF!** All ships! Pull back! Get out the paddles!"

**BRRIIIIIIIINNG!** A series of bells went off as the battleships turned to give chase after the Straw Hats.

"Speed it up a little bit more!" Luffy called.

**KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!** An explosion went off.

The Marines are still firing at them! They weren't ready to give up, yet, apparently.

"It's no good!" Nami cried. "At this rate, they'll catch up to us!"

"This is as fast as she'll go!" Franky said.

"Dammit," Luffy cursed as he watched the eagle getting some distance between itself and the ship. "My hat…!"

**TMP!** Luffy jumped off of _Sunny's_ head, after the bird.

"Hey!" Franky called. "Where are you going?"

"Luffy, come back!" Nami called.

Nami's pleas fell on deaf ears, for Luffy swung through the outcropping of rocks with his arms, trying to catch up to the eagle.

**WROING!** He stretched his arm behind himself.

"Gimme back…MY HAT!"

The eagle easily managed to maneuver around Luffy's stretching arms as he tried to take back what was his, all while in midair. Luffy seemed to see an opportunity when he saw the eagle about to fly over another outcropping. **WROING!** He stretched his arms back behind himself.

"Gum-GUUUUUM…BAZOOKA!"

**SMASH!** Luffy ended up hitting the rock, instead, as the eagle evaded him once again. The captain almost caused the crumbling rock to fall on his crew, but they were fortunate to get out of the way in time.

"That idiot!" Nami shouted. "Didn't he see us under there? He could've crushed us!"

_It's like he's possessed!_ Blizzard thought.

As for the Marines, the rocks ended up falling on one of the battleships.

Luffy, however, continued to give chase after the eagle, even onto one of the battleships, but still the avian managed to elude him, heading straight for a cave up ahead.

"Damn you…!" Luffy cursed as he jumped down and put his hands over the mouth of one of the ship's cannons.

**KABOOM!** The cannon was fired, and Luffy hitched a ride on the cannonball back to the _Sunny_, and gracefully landed near the helm.

"Follow that eagle!" Luffy shouted.

Nami felt a bit concerned. He didn't even ask if anyone was okay, her especially.

She decided to put it off, for now, as the ship continued to advance into the cave. The Marines, however, stopped giving chase.

"All ships! Halt! Cease fire!"

"Those fools," said the Commander. "No one's ever come out of that cave alive."

The _Sunny_ continued to chase after the eagle, which flew down into the cave. Soon, the Straw Hats were caught up in a wild ride down a waterfall and some rather violent rapids that nearly caused them to crash into some stalagmites, and, as an extra shock, they are sent screaming down a second waterfall, which led to a part of the cave with walls encrusted with colorful crystals.

"Ouch…!" Nami hissed in pain, as she held her head. "That hurt…!"

Sanji gasped and ran to hers and Robin's side.

"Nami! Robin!" he cried. "Are you two all right?"

Nami nodded before she looked to Luffy, who didn't seem to notice, at all.

"Jeez," Franky said, "Where the hell is this place?"

"The bird!" Luffy exclaimed. "Where did it go?"

"Looks like we lost it, for now," Sanji said.

"A little help, here," Usopp muttered, having fallen face-first on the deck.

Blizzard sighed.

"HEY!" Luffy shouted. "EAGLE! WHERE ARE YOU? GET OUT HERE!"

_You know it's not a dog, right?_ Blizzard thought. _Calling it out like that isn't really gonna make it show up._

"Well, in any case, we can't just sit here," said Franky. "We gotta keep going."

"But that bird is in here, somewhere!" Luffy exclaimed. "I know it is! I can feel it! We're not leaving until we get my hat back!"

Nami stood up and looked to Robin.

"Uh, hey, Robin?" she asked the historian. "Can I talk to you about something…in private?" She looked to Luffy, who is still looking around, trying to find the thieving bird, then back to Robin.

Robin nodded in understanding.

"Excuse us, for a moment," she said to the others. "Miss Navigator and I have some…minor chitchat to do."

With that, the two left into the women's quarters. Nami sat down in one of the lounge chairs while Robin sat in the one across from her.

"So, what's on your mind?" asked Robin.

"Well…" Nami started, "it's Luffy. Ever since that eagle stole his hat, it's like he's a whole different person. I mean, you saw what happened, right? He almost caused that rock to fall on top of us!"

"Well, Luffy is quite reckless, you know," Robin remarked.

"Well, yeah," Nami agreed, "but…it's like he's being more reckless than before. He also didn't come to check if I was okay! I know that hat is important to him and all, but…I feel like I'm being overshadowed."

"I see," said Robin. "Well, you are considering telling him, aren't you?"

"I don't know if I should," said Nami. "I don't know how he'll react. I don't know if he'll yell at me or if he'll feel hurt by what I'm saying."

"Well, I think it's better than keeping it inside, Miss Navigator," said Robin.

Nami looked to her older sister-figure, who gave her one of her usual smiles.

"Tell him the first chance you get," she said.

"Thanks, Robin," Nami told her. "I really don't know what I'd do without you."

Robin chuckled and gave Nami a hug, which she returned.

Suddenly, **RRMMMMMMMMBB!** The ship started shaking, knocking Nami off of her feet.

"Ah!" she yelped. "What the hell? What's going on out there?"

"Maybe we better go and investigate," said Robin.

Nodding in agreement, Nami and Robin left the room and rejoined the others. Looking up, it looked one of the giant rocks in the cave…was moving.

"W-what the hell…?" Luffy questioned.

Looking to the right, the Straw Hats saw that it was not a giant rock encrusted with crystals…but the giant shell of a GIANT SEA TURTLE!

_HOLY CRAP!_ Blizzard thought.

On the turtle's shell, the eagle had perched itself there, but upon seeing its true form, it chose that moment to make a quick getaway.

"Is this thing one of those mythical sea monsters?" Sanji questioned.

Just then, he spot the eagle overhead, flying away.

Seeing the bird getting away with his hat just fueled Luffy with anger.

"That bastard…!" Luffy growled as he grabbed spikes of _Sunny's _head and then, **WRROOOINNG!** He jumped back, stretching his arms out.

"Uh, Luffy," Nami said. "I-"

"Not now, Nami," Luffy interrupted.

"But, Luffy, I-"

"I said, 'Not now'! The bird's gonna get away with my hat!"

Nami furrowed her brow and frowned, and Blizzard seemed to take notice, while Luffy, on the other hand, didn't seem to pay it any mind, at all.

"Gum-GUUUUUUUUM…"

**WHOOSH!**

"ROCKET!"

Just when it looked like Luffy was going to succeed in repossessing his hat, the eagle flew up, out of his reach, or so it thought. As Luffy was about to fall into the water, he stretched his arm out and grabbed the eagle by its leg, startling it and almost causing it to fall.

"Ha!" Luffy laughed. "Finally gotcha! WHOA!"

The eagle flew off, taking Luffy with it. As it passed through an opening in the waterfall ahead, just big enough for it and Luffy to pass through, the latter saw something that took him by surprise.

Meanwhile, down below, the rest of the Straw Hats barely escaped getting eaten alive by the giant sea turtle.

"What the hell was that?" Nami asked before she turned and gasped.

There, right in front of the _Sunny_, was a WHOLE NEST OF SEA KINGS!

"THEY'RE HERE, TOO~?"

The eagle, still trying to get Luffy to let go, flew all around, avoiding the mouths and tentacles of the huge sea beasts, but Luffy persisted in hanging on tight, even when he was almost getting eaten, himself. It was when a giant, yellow-and-white-striped snake-like Sea King came out of the water and trapped Luffy inside its massive jaws that he released the eagle, giving it a chance into making its get away, once again.

"Damn you~!" Luffy cursed. "Stay outta my WAY!"

**BAM!** Luffy punched the Sea King in the roof of its mouth, forcing its mouth open and sending it in a great deal of pain.

"Crap!" the captain cursed. "I almost had it!"

"LUFFY!"

Luffy looked down upon hearing Usopp's voice from the ship.

"Get back on _Sunny_, Luffy! Hurry!" Usopp called.

"We're gonna go flying, too!" Franky added.

"Got it!" Luffy called back. "I'll leave it to you, Franky!"

**SHUP!** He jumped off of the Sea King's tongue. **WROING!** He grabbed onto the yardarm of the mast and **TMP!** He landed gracefully on the roof of the crow's nest.

"Okay!" Franky said. "Everyone! Hang on, tight!"

The _Sunny's_ aft cannon began to glow.

"Coup de BURST!"

**WHOOSH!** _Sunny_ flew a great distance over the Sea King nest, catching up to the fleeing eagle in little to no time at all.

XXX

Meanwhile, in the sick bay, Chopper was still busy treating Schneider, who, by this time, had started to come around, again. He had a rather fever, and he kept muttering something about "Buzz".

"Hey," Chopper said. "How are you feeling? You okay, now, old man?"

Schneider looked to the little reindeer, beads of sweat falling from his eyebrow.

"What have you been muttering, all this time?" Chopper asked. "Who's this 'Buzz'?"

Schneider looked away from Chopper and sighed.

"Buzz…is my best friend…and…my only crew."

XXX

Outside, the _Sunny_ is stilly flying through the air from the Coup de Burst, over an island's forest, catching up to the eagle, which is attempting to flee, once more.

Not if Luffy, who had jumped down to the deck, had anything to say about it.

"No way in HELL are you getting away, again!" Luffy cursed at the bird. He prepared to jump off the ship and go after it, again, but then, out of nowhere, Nami grabbed his hand from behind.

"Luffy, wait!" she said. "I have to tell you something!"

"Nami, not now!" Luffy snapped. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of something important?"

"This is important, too, Luffy!" Nami argued. "I-"

Before she could get her words out, Luffy slipped and fell down towards the forest below, unwittingly dragging Nami down with him!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nami screamed.

"NAMI!" Sanji cried as he watched the captain and navigator fall.

_Oh, crap,_ Blizzard thought. _Not good._

The bird seemed to smirk before it continued its getaway.

* * *

I decided to add some LuNa to this. Can you blame me?

Review, please!


	4. Ch 3 Confessions

**Ch. 3- Confessions**

* * *

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

* * *

"AAAAAAAHHH~!"

**THOOM!** Luffy and Nami landed on the ground with a colossal bang, startling the birds that had been perching in the trees into flying away.

Nami sat up, holding her head in pain. She pulled her hand away and saw that there was a bit of blood on it, making her heave a sigh.

"Great," she muttered.

Luffy, on the other hand, just stood up and started looking around for the eagle.

"Dammit!" he cursed. "Where the hell did that big bird go?" He turned to Nami, angrily. "Thanks a lot, Nami! If you hadn't have grabbed onto me, like that, I could've gotten my hat back!"

Nami glared at the teen before she struggled to stand to her feet.

"So, what is it that's SO important that you have to tell me?" Luffy asked, bluntly, as he dusted himself off.

Nami crossed her arms and said, "Oh, so NOW you wanna listen to me? Well, just forget it!"

"No, I will not forget it!" Luffy said. "What have you been trying to tell me, Nami?"

Nami sighed.

"Ever since that eagle stole your hat," she began, "you've been acting like it's all you care about."

Luffy looked at Nami, quizzically.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, take back at that outcropping, for example," said Nami. "You almost killed us back there when you caused that rock to fall!"

"But I didn't kill you," Luffy remarked.

"That's not the point!" Nami barked. "Also, when you came back to the _Sunny_, you didn't even ask if anyone was okay!"

"Well, you looked okay to me, so I didn't ask!" Luffy said.

"Luffy, really!" Nami said before she turned away from him. "I-I just can't believe you! You've been acting selfish and way more reckless than you usually are! Don't you understand how that makes me feel?"

That's when Luffy finally seemed to get the message.

"Are you saying that you're jealous of my hat, Nami?" he asked her.

"Well, maybe I am," Nami retorted.

"But…but that's just stupid," Luffy said.

"I know it's stupid!" Nami snapped. "Luffy, look…I know that hat is important to you, but…aren't I important to you, too?"

"Nami," Luffy said before he started to walk up to her from behind. "I don't mean to make you feel like I don't care about you. I love you, but…I need to get my hat back. I don't know what I'd do without it, just like how I wouldn't know what to do without you."

Nami scoffed at him.

"Look, Nami," Luffy began before his arms around her from behind, "I'm sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you, I promise. How about I take you out on a date after this is all over?"

A pause.

"You're not making any promises you can't keep, are you?" asked Nami.

"Of course not," Luffy answered.

"… … …you do know that I'll kick your ass if you don't keep your end of the deal, right?"

Luffy smirked and chuckled.

"Yep!" he said.

Nami smiled and embraced her beloved captain.

"I can't stay mad at you, you big dummy," she said.

Luffy just chuckled, again.

"Okay," said Nami as she pulled away. "I'll go look up North of the island for that eagle. You go look down South."

"Right!" Luffy agreed. "Uh…which way is South?"

"That way," Nami replied, pointing to the left.

"Right," Luffy said. "What would I do without you?"

"You'd probably end up lost in the middle of nowhere."

"Yeah, you're right."

With that, Luffy ran off, but then, he turned around and **Smooch!** He gave Nami a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Love you," he said before he ran off, again.

Nami smiled and blushed as she watched her captain run off in search of his hat.

XXX

"Okay," said Luffy as he ran through the forest. "That eagle has to be around here, somewhere, but where?"

Just then, a shadow was cast over him. Looking up, Luffy saw that it was the eagle.

"There you are!" Luffy shouted.

**SPROING!** He stretched out his arm and grabbed the eagle by the leg. The eagle, taken by surprise, almost losing flight, but instead, it kept flying until it carried Luffy off into the distance.

It turns out that this island isn't all forest. Upon getting out, Luffy saw that some of it is a barren landscape with lava and bare trees

**WHAP!** Luffy wrapped his arms around the eagle, sending it and himself crashing towards the ground.

XXX

"So, Buzz is…your dog?"

"Yes, and my one and only companion."

On the _Thousand_ _Sunny's_ sick bay, Schneider was telling Chopper about this "Buzz" he kept talking about.

"Despite that," Schneider said, "I still drove him away. My best friend."

"But why?" Chopper asked.

"It's pretty obvious to you, isn't it?" asked Schneider. "My body can't go on for much longer. That's why I had to it. I didn't want Buzz to see me dying a slow, painful death." He looked up to the ceiling. "The last thing I ever want is for him to have any sad memories of me." He clenched his teeth and shut his eyes, trying to keep his tears from showing. "Please, forgive me…Buzz."

XXX

Back on the island, a short, stout, wide-faced Basset Hound with long ears and an equally long tongue ran out of the cloud of dust that had formed when Luffy and the eagle had crashed, and, for some odd reason, he had Luffy's hat on his head.

"Why the hell would a DOG take my hat?" Luffy questioned before he ran off after it.

XXX

"Huh?" Chopper asked. "So, does that mean your friend, Buzz, is…?"

"Buzz isn't just some ordinary dog," said Schneider. "He's…he has Devil Fruit powers. The Bird-Bird Fruit."

XXX

**PSSSSSSSSSSH!** The dog stopped by a tree to take a quick break.

At that moment, Luffy appeared behind him, surprising him.

"Hey, dog," said Luffy. "Gimme that straw hat, right now! It's mine! An eagle took it from me earlier, and I-"

The dog turned around to face Luffy, but as he did, he seemed to…grow wings, much to Luffy's surprise. He also began to grow in size, his muzzle becoming longer, and the upper half of his body was covered in golden yellow and black feathers.

"So…so…!" Luffy stammered before he went starry-eyed. "So AWESOME~!"

**Grrrr…!** The dog/bird hybrid growled.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Luffy exclaimed. "Those feathers! YOU'RE the bird, aren't you?"

**GRRROOOOARR!** The dog roared before he flew up high into the air, and then dived at Luffy, who quickly dodged out of the way.

As Luffy stood up, the dog began to run circles around him.

"Bastard!" he cursed as he got into a fighting stance. "Gimme my hat back!"

XXX

**SPLASH!** The _Thousand Sunny_ landed in the water on the other side of the island.

Up in the crow's nest, Usopp was looking to see if he could spot Luffy or Nami through his goggles. Sanji was just coming up to check on his progress.

"Well, Usopp?" Sanji asked. "Did you find Nami or not?"

"No," Usopp answered. "I don't see Luffy either, but I'm sure they're on the island, somewhere."

"Damn that Luffy," Sanji cursed as he chewed on the butt of his cigarette. "Dragging Nami down with him and endangering her like that! How reckless can he be?"

"H-hey, wait!" Usopp said.

"You found Nami?" asked Sanji.

"No, but I see Luffy!" Usopp replied. "He's over there!"

On the island, a trail of dust had formed, but the sniper's keen eyes could tell who made it. However, when he saw where the trail of dust was going, he gasped.

"Oh, crap," Usopp muttered.

XXX

In the sick bay, Chopper was still talking with Schneider.

"Since Buzz just wouldn't let me abandon him," Schneider explained, "I asked him to do a job for me."

"A job?" Chopper repeated, questioningly.

XXX

Back on the island, Luffy was chasing Buzz in an effort to get his hat back, but Buzz proved to be swift even for him. He tried to attack with a Gum-Gum Gatling, but the dog-bird hybrid weaved around his punches.

XXX

"Yes," Schneider answered. "Even though Buzz is pretty old, already, he's still a powerful Devil Fruit user. He could complete even the simplest tasks."

XXX

When Luffy was down on solid ground, Buzz tackled him, biting down on his shoulder, into a couple of trees before he threw him back up into the sky. However, Luffy proved that he was agile even when in the air, for he punched Buzz as he came to attack, again.

XXX

"That's why I came up with a very difficult job for Buzz to make him give up on me," said Schneider.

"A difficult job?" Chopper repeated. "What kind of job, exactly?"

XXX

Luffy punched Buzz in the face, sending him into clearer skies. However, Buzz dragged him down with him…straight into a Marine base.

XXX

"Something that will fetch a bounty of more than 3 million Berries," Schneider continued. "Steal 'Straw Hat' Luffy's hat!"

XXX

**BOOM!** Luffy and Buzz were shot at, and from the cloud of smoke, Luffy's hat came flying off of Buzz's head.

XXX

Chopper's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

"I'm pretty sure that Buzz gave up on doing such an impossible task," Schneider said.

"N-no!" Chopper replied. "It's not what you think!"

Suddenly, Usopp's voice came on the intercom.

"**Guys! We've got a problem! Luffy and that big eagle crashed into a Marine base!"**

Chopper gasped.

"Luffy?" Schneider repeated. "An eagle?"

"That's right, mister!" Chopper said. "We were chasing after this big eagle that stole our captain's hat! You see, that 'Straw Hat' Luffy that you were talking about earlier is the captain of this ship!"

A slight pause came.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?"

Schneider sat up in the bed, his jaw hanging open.

"So, wait," he said. "You're saying that Buzz actually managed to steal his hat?"

"Uh-huh," Chopper replied.

"W…WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN THAT DOG INTO?"

He quickly got out of bed and ran out of the sick bay.

"No, wait! Old man!" Chopper called.

"BUZZ!"

"Come back here!" Chopper cried as he tried to chase after him. "You're not supposed to be out of bed, old ma-"

**Klink!**

Chopper stopped and looked down. It looked like he stepped on something…something made of metal.

"Huh?"

* * *

Sorry it's short and that I haven't been uploading in a while, but the best part's coming up next!

Review, please!


	5. Ch 4 The Final Battle

**Ch. 4- The Final Battle**

* * *

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

* * *

Meanwhile, Luffy and Buzz had landed in the Marine base, the former trying to get his head free from underneath some rubble.

"Ah, crap!" Luffy cursed as he get himself unstuck.

Buzz, on the other hand, shook off his pain and flew up after Luffy's hat as it flew away.

**KABANG! BANG!** Several gunshots were fired at the eagle-dog hybrid, but he wasn't going to let it faze him. Just when he was about to reach it…**BOOM!** He was hit by two bazooka shots.

By this time, Luffy had finally freed his head from the rubble before **CRASH!** Buzz landed in front of him.

"What the hell?" Luffy questioned.

**BOOM!**

Something was fired.

**THOOM!** Luffy and Buzz were soon trapped inside a cage, and the Marines started to close in on them.

XXX

Back at the _Thousand Sunny_, in the crow's nest, Brook, Sanji, Blizzard, and Usopp were watching everything from outside, when suddenly, Schneider came in.

"Where is he?" the old man asked before he ran to the window. "Where's Buzz?"

**STOMP! YIPE!** In his haste, Schneider accidentally stepped on Blizzard's tail, making the wolf-dog yelp in pain.

_Crazy old geezer!_ Blizzard thought as he nursed his injured tail.

"What's with you, old man?" Usopp asked.

**SNATCH!** Schneider swiped Usopp's binoculars from his hands and looked outside.

"There he is!" he cried before he gave back Usopp's binoculars. "Wait for me!"

He jumped down to the deck and ran towards the helm where Franky was standing.

"MOVE IT!" he shouted.

**BAM!** He kicked the shipwright away.

"Hey!" Franky snapped. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Schneider didn't listen. He just grabbed the steering wheel.

"Here I come, Buzz!"

Up in the crow's nest, Usopp, Sanji, Blizzard, and Brook were watching everything, and were awed at Schneider's sudden adrenaline rush.

"He just…sprang to life all of a sudden," said Usopp.

_I'll say,_ Blizzard thought.

XXX

Meanwhile, back at the Marine base, Luffy and base were surrounded by Marines, trapped in a huge cage.

"W-what the hell?" Luffy questioned, confused. "What's going on? Where's my hat?"

Buzz looked up and saw that Luffy's hat had soon landed…on the barrel of a Marine Commander's pistol.

"Well, well," said the Commander. "If it isn't 'Straw Hat' Luffy? A pleasure to meet you at last. Is THIS what you're looking for?"

"Ah!" Luffy gasped. "That's my hat!"

**BAM!** He charged and grabbed at the cage bars.

"Give it back, you…bastard…!" Luffy threatened until his voice slurred and his body slumped.

The Commander laughed and said, "It's useless. The cage is made of Sea Prism Stone."

"Shut your trap!" Luffy shouted before his energy was drained, again. "Give it…back…!"

"Oh, please," said the Commander. "Is this old, tattered hat really THAT precious to you?"

"If you do anything to it," Luffy began as he strained himself to get up to his feet, "I…won't forgive you…!"

"Is that so?" the Commander questioned before he began to pull the trigger.

All Luffy could do was watch in horror.

**BANG! BANG!** The Commander fired his pistol, twice, creating two howls in the bowl of Luffy's hat, and to add insult to injury, he chuckled, malevolently.

"What the HELL HAVE YOU DONE?" Luffy roared.

**BAM!** He punched the bars in a futile attempt to escape the cage.

"LET ME OUTTA HERE!"

Buzz watched as Luffy continued to punch the cage. As he did, he began to feel a sense of remorse.

He thought that the hat was something that Luffy could just replace, but looking at him again, he started to see that the piece of headwear was more precious to the teen than he realized.

**BAM! BAM!** Luffy kept punching at the bars, his knuckles beginning to bleed.

"Open this cage!" Luffy shouted. "Open it!"

**BAM!** He banged his skull against it, weakly.

"I don't think you realize the deep crap you're in, pirate," said the Commander. "Men! Shut him up and arrest him!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Marines began to advance, prepared to arrest Luffy on the spot, but right now, that seemed to be the least of the Straw Hat captain's worries.

"My hat," Luffy growled as he tried to pull himself to his feet again. "Gimme back…MY HAT!"

Just then, **SLASH!** A huge, air-compressed slash burst through the base, taking many soldiers as it went.

Luffy gasped, and then looked to his left. There, he saw someone standing on the base wall.

"And just what are you doing here, huh, Luffy?" Zoro asked with a smirk.

"Zoro?" Luffy exclaimed.

"So, the 'Pirate Hunter' is here, too, is he?" the Commander questioned.

"What about you?" Luffy asked. "Why are YOU here?"

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Zoro asked. "I was looking for your hat, obviously! And then…I…"

"You got lost, right?" Luffy asked.

"LIKE HELL!" Zoro shouted.

"Well, it doesn't matter, now!" Luffy shouted. "Hurry up and get me outta this thing!"

"'It doesn't matter', eh?" Zoro asked. "Well, I guess that's gratitude for ya."

**CHINK!** He pulled _Kitetsu III_ out from its sheath. Then, he jumped down into the army of Marines.

"Tatsu MAKI!"

**WOOSH!** He created a huge whirlwind of slashes, cutting down the Marines with lightning speed. Then, **SLI-SLI-SLASH!** He cut open the bars to the sea prism stone cage, freeing both Luffy and Buzz.

"Thanks, Zoro!" Luffy said as he ran towards the Marine Commander, who was standing on higher ground.

"My pleasure, captain," said Zoro.

"So what if you broke out of the cage?" the Commander asked. "Neither of you will make out of this place, alive!"

With that being said, a giant with a red beard appeared and stood before the gate, blocking Luffy and Zoro's path.

"So, did you find your hat?" the swordsman asked.

"Yeah!" Luffy answered. "That Marine bastard has it!"

"I see," Zoro said. "Then it looks like we'll have to take out this giant, quick, doesn't it?"

**WHUP!** Zoro jumped up and **SLASH!** He made two air-compressed slashes at the Marines standing in Luffy's way. The soldiers began to lose their confidence, knowing all too well of the swordsman and captain's monstrous strength, but then, the giant stepped in, holding his iron spiked club.

"STAY OUTTA MY WAY~!" Luffy shouted.

**WHAM!** The giant threw his club at Luffy, who quickly dodged it. The giant swept his club along the ground, but Luffy jumped onto and ran along his arm. The giant attempted to punch him off, but Luffy was too quick. He grabbed onto giants spiked bracelet, then onto his helmet, stretching his arm out to gain some distance. He managed to weave around the spike of the giant's club before he grabbed the helmet, again, and then jumped to the Marine Commander, stretching his arm out behind him as he did.

"Gum-GUUUUUUUM…"

The Commander seemed shocked, at first, but then he gave a smirk, and before Luffy realized what was happening, **BAM!** He was suddenly by the hammer of a second giant!

"Luffy!" Zoro cried.

As Luffy was sent to the ground, he rebounded and somersaulted back to his feet, standing by Zoro. Instinctively, the two looked back and saw that there was a third giant, armed with a sword, jumping down at them, forcing them to jump out of the way as he landed with a huge **THUD!**

Luffy and Zoro found themselves standing back-to-back, surrounded by the giants.

The Commander laughed at their efforts.

"You fools certainly have a lot of openings, don't you?" he questioned.

"So there are three of them, huh?" asked Zoro as he put _Wado Ichimonji_ in his mouth.

"Looks like these guys are gonna get in our way, aren't they?" asked Luffy as he got into a fighting stance.

The hammer giant decided to take a swipe at the two Straw Hats first. **WHAM!** He swung his hammer down on them, but they managed to dodge as Luffy grabbed onto the club giant and jumped to the hammer giant.

**THWAM!** He was soon knocked down. Once Luffy was on the ground, the hammer giant attempted to stomp on him, but the rubber-man narrowly escaped.

Zoro, meanwhile, found himself going one-on-one with the sword giant.

"108 CALIBER PHOENIX!"

**SLASH!** Zoro swung a circular air-compressed slash at the sword giant, who dodged and hit the swordsman with his own blade. Before he could rebound, Zoro was soon hit by the club giant's weapon and crashed into the ground.

Luffy got the same result with the hammer giant, once again.

It appeared that even their strength combined was not enough to defeat three giants.

"Didn't you say that you wanted this back?" the Commander asked, mockingly holding Luffy's hat up.

Zoro and Luffy staggered to their feet.

"These aren't so bad, are they?" asked Zoro.

"Crap," Luffy cursed. "I don't have time to mess with these guys!"

By this time, Buzz was starting to get over the sea prism stone's effects. He was still weak from his injuries, though.

As the giants prepared to attack once again, a voice suddenly pierces through the air.

"BUUUUUUUUUUZZ!"

Looking up, Luffy, Zoro, the giants, and the Marines saw what looked like the _Thousand Sunny_, flying through the air!

"_Sunny_?" Luffy questioned.

On board the ship, Schneider had taken the wheel, despite Chopper, who was in Heavy Point form, and Franky's best efforts to pull him away.

**CRASH!** The _Sunny_ soon landed in the center of the base. If she wasn't made of Adam Wood, she definitely would've been destroyed once she landed.

"Dammit, Gramps!" Franky cursed at Schneider. "That was way too reckless!"

"My goodness," said Brook. "This is quite a mess we've got here, isn't it?"

Franky, Brook, Sanji, Blizzard, and Usopp jumped down from the ship.

"Luffy! Zoro!" Chopper called. "Are you guys okay down there?"

Luffy and Zoro only smiled.

**Ruff!** **Ruff!** Blizzard barked as he ran up to Luffy, jumped up, and smothered his face with slobbery dog kisses, happy to see he was all right.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Luffy laughed. "Hey, Blizzard! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

**Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!** Blizzard kept licking his face.

"O-okay, okay, buddy!" Luffy said. "Down! Down! Off! I mean it! You're slobbering all over me!"

Blizzard relents and got down back down on all fours, earning a pet on the head from Luffy.

"Good boy," he praised.

Just then, Schneider fell from the ship, crying Buzz's name as tears fell from his eyes.

**WHUMP!** The old man landed, unceremoniously, a few feet away from the weakened Buzz, who was surprised to see that his master had come looking for him.

Because of how he had been acting recently, the dog-eagle hybrid started to believe that Schneider didn't want him anymore.

"I'm so sorry, Buzz!" Schneider cried as he ran to his canine-avian friend. "It's all my fault!"

He slid up to Buzz on his knees and wrapped his arms around his large muzzle.

"Forget about the damn hat, Buzz," Schneider said, nose runny and eyes flooded with tears. "This is all on me! You're not useless, after all! Realizing that you can still do this much in your old age, I know that now!"

At that moment, Schneider's tears began to fall from his eyes.

"I just…I just…!" Schneider ended up choking on his own words before he began to nuzzle Buzz, affectionately.

Buzz also found himself futilely holding back his tears as his beloved master embraced him, realizing that even after all this time, he still loved him.

"Forgive me…partner!" Schneider cried.

Luffy and Blizzard watched the two reconcile, begin see themselves in the pair, somewhat. They only smiled.

However, now was not the time to get sentimental. There was still the matter of getting Luffy's hat back.

"Yo, Moss-head," Sanji said, teasingly at Zoro. "I thought you'd be lost and crying somewhere."

"What was that you said, Dartboard-brow?" Zoro questioned.

"I-I n-never heard of a Marine base that has GIANTS in them!" Usopp stammered, hiding behind Franky's arm.

"Well," said Robin, "it looks like the commander has Luffy's hat."

"Then let's hurry and take it and then get the hell outta dodge!"

Luffy looked to his right and saw Nami approaching the group, her Perfect Clima-Tact in hand.

"Nami?" Luffy questioned. "How'd you know we'd be here?"

"Duh," Nami answered. "When I heard the crashes from your fight with the eagle, I followed you, then I waited for the right moment to show myself, idiot."

She walked up to Luffy and put a hand on his shoulder, making him blush.

"I know you've probably got enough power," said Nami, "but just in case, here's a little boost."

**Smooch!** Nami gave Luffy a chaste kiss on the lips, making Luffy's blush even redder (and sending Sanji fuming on the inside). She then pulled away and stood beside Robin.

Blizzard snickered at the sight.

"So," said the Commander, "all of them decided to just gather here at once, eh? Very well. Men! Take them all out! Don't let one of the Straw Hats leave this place alive!"

"Yes, sir!" the Marines shouted.

**BAP!** Luffy threw his fist into his palm.

"Let's go!" he ordered.

With a shout of agreement, the Straw Hats charged into action.

Sanji and Blizzard ran around the hammer giant, who attacked with his trademark weapon, only for them to dodge it.

Usopp whipped out his Kabuto and pulled back on the shafts.

"Take this!" he said. "Certain Death: SUPER STICKY STAR!"

**TWANG! GLOOP!** A huge sticky substance stuck itself to the sole of the hammer's giant's shoe, causing him to be immobilized. Once he was down on one knee, Franky jumped off his heel from behind him and into the air.

"Strong RIGHT!"

**BAM!** He fired his right wrist at the hammer giant and wrapped it around one of the horns of his helmet. He then began to use his Weapons Left attack on him as he swung around him whilst the giant futilely swatted at him.

"Your opponent's over here, dumb-ass!" Chopper shouted as he ran from the sword giant. Before he could attack, however, he felt something grab at his ankle. He looked down and saw a giant arm made by 100 smaller arms.

"Cien Fleur!" Robin said.

Behind Robin, Nami gave a clever smirk.

**KRRRZZZZZTT! BOOM!** A huge, dark cloud had formed over the sword giant, and he was soon struck by a thunderbolt.

Good thing Robin let go of him at the last minute.

By this time, Franky had finished shooting at the hammer giant, and it was Brook's turn. The skeleton jumped up onto the giant's shoulder, laughing.

"Yo-ho-ho-ho! Over here!" Brook chortled before he jumped off.

**BOOM!** Something was fired at the giant's head, but it didn't have much of an effect due to his helmet. It was revealed that Usopp had fired a Gunpowder Star at him. Once Brook landed beside him, the two cowards ran from the giant's hammer.

The sword giant, meanwhile, shook off his shocking experience, and looked down to see…many Namis. There was even one standing on his shoulder.

"Can you tell which one is the real me?" the Nami clones asked, all at once. "Mirage Tempo!"

Back down below, Brook was laughing as he ran around, barely dodging the hammer of the giant.

**BOOM!** Usopp fired another Gunpowder Star at him.

"Dumb-ass!" he called as he ran. "Over here!"

Brook kept chortling and running away from the hammer giant's attacks,

The sword giant seemed to be having the same problem with Nami. Every time he swung his sword, all he kept hitting were mirages.

"Here! Here!" Usopp cried to the hammer giant, who swung his hammer at him and Brook, only for it to be dodged, once more.

Before they knew it, **WHAM! BAM!** The two giants ended up striking each other!

"Go, Zoro!" Chopper shouted before he threw the swordsman up to the giants.

"Diable Jambe!" Sanji cried as he jumped the sword giant's shoulder from behind.

"108 Caliber..."

"Flambage…!"

"PHOENIX/SHOOT!"

**SLASH! POW!** Zoro and Sanji's attack hit, taking out the two giants.

Now, only one remained: the one with the club.

Luffy roared as he charged forward.

The Commander flinched and backed up a step.

"Gimme back…MY HAT!" shouted Luffy.

Blizzard ran in front of Luffy, and then lied down on his back with his back paws up.

**WHUP!** Luffy jumped onto the wolf-dog's paws and then used them as a springboard, propelling himself forward.

The Commander, on the other hand, wasn't going to let him win, so easily.

"'Hat' this, and 'hat' that…!" he seethed. "If you want the damn thing so badly…THEN GO GET IT, YOURSELF!"

**FLING!** He threw Luffy's hat behind himself…towards the sea!

Luffy gasped while the Commander smirked.

"I win," he whispered.

_Big mistake, pal,_ Blizzard thought. _REAL big mistake!_

"Damn YOU~!" Luffy roared. "Gear…THIRD!"

**FWOOP!** He bit into his thumb and began to blow air into his bones, causing his arm to grow gigantic.

"Gum-GUUUUUUUM…"

The giant raised his club, prepared to attack,

"GIANT PISTOL!"

**THWAM!** The giant's club connected with Luffy's giant fist.

"RRAAAAAAAGGHH~!" Luffy roared as he pushed fist into the club, completely destroying it, as well as pinning the giant to the gate behind him.

As a large piece of the club went flying toward the Commander, the man showed his true colors, and cowardly turned to escape, leaving his coat behind, only to end up crushed.

**POW!** Luffy punched the giant all the way into the gate, causing it to crack.

"Hey, Luffy!" Nami called. "Don't go overdoing it!"

**FSSSSSSH!** All the air in Luffy's arm started to escape through his mouth, sending him flying over the wall…towards the ocean!

"L…Luffy's heading for the ocean!" Nami cried.

Usopp gasped.

_That moron!_ Blizzard thought.

"Is he trying go after the hat?" Zoro questioned.

**SPLASH! SPLASH!** Now that the gate was broken, the water from the sea was beginning to come in and flood the place.

"Uh, hey," Usopp said. "Aren't we all screwed if we stay here much longer?"

At that moment, Buzz began to stand to his paws.

"Buzz!" Schneider said. "Don't push yourself! Turn yourself back into a dog so I can carry you."

Buzz looked to Schneider, and then at Blizzard, who approached him with a grin, which Buzz returned.

**Ruff!** Buzz barked to Schneider, who seemed confused, but then, he smiled and nodded his head.

Blizzard's grin grew wider.

**SPLASH!** The water came through, and everyone was forced to evacuate as quick as possible.

"Everybody, get to the _Sunny_, quick!" Franky called.

The rest of the Straw Hats quickly followed his lead and ran to _Sunny_ as fast as they could.

"C'mon, Mister Schneider!" Chopper called as he ran passed him. "You, too! To the ship!"

"Right!" Schneider agreed before he followed after him.

XXX

A shrunken Luffy was still flying through the air, over the sea. Once the air had completely left him, he soon saw what he had been after all this time: his hat.

"All right!" Luffy said. "There it is!"

Luffy went after his treasured hat, and in his current state, he couldn't stretch his arms out to reach it, so he'd have to deal with just trying to grab it once he got close enough. However, ever time he tried, the hat kept going out of his reach. He tried one last time, but before he could, he started to fall toward the ocean.

"No!" Luffy cried. "My hat~!"

**FWUMP!** Luffy landed on something. Something soft and feathery.

Looking down, he looked down and saw that it was Buzz in his eagle form!

"It's you!" Luffy said.

**RARF!** Buzz barked, and Luffy grinned.

"Go!" he ordered.

Buzz picked up speed, carrying Luffy along with him, the distance between them and the latter's hat growing less, and before Luffy knew it, he had finally been reunited with his precious hat!

"Yes!" Luffy said. "At last!"

With that, Buzz flew off with Luffy on his back and the _Thousand Sunny_ following behind them.

* * *

Yay! Luffy got his hat back!

Next chapter's the last, and pretty short.

Review, please!


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard © Me

* * *

Sunset.

The Straw Hats, as well as Schneider and Buzz, had been resting for a quite a while after the day's events. When they had found Schneider's ship, they knew it was time for them to say their farewells.

"Dammit, Buzz," Schneider cursed as he petted Buzz, who was in his hybrid form. "Look at you, doing something as reckless as that!"

**Whimper!** Buzz whined.

"But you know, sir," said Brook, "you look surprisingly healthier, now, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know," Schneider agreed. "It's kind of odd how I just stopped coughing up blood, like that, huh?"

"Now that you mention it, mister," said Chopper as he reached into his pocket, "this came out of your mouth earlier when you ran out of the sick bay."

**SHING!** Chopper revealed the object to be a twisted fork.

Schneider gasped.

"Hey!" he said. "I remember now!"

_Flashback_

Schneider was eating a big heaping plate of noodles with two forks. However, when he grabbed a bottle of cheap wine, he didn't realize that he had his eyes closed, and that when he ate the noodles, he accidentally ate the fork that was in his right hand, as well!

"_That's the fork I thought I lost when I was eating spaghetti last week!"_

_Flashback end_

"It looks like it caused the bleeding when it got lodged in your throat," said Chopper.

"What?" Schneider questioned. "That's it? BA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"You should've known that, old man," Usopp muttered.

"Good grief," said Nami. "Just how carefree can these guys be, anyway? They act like that, even after the mess we've just been through."

"That's fine, isn't it?" asked Robin. "After all, our captain did get his hat back."

"True," agreed Nami. "Not just that, but he's back to his old self, again." She rested her head in the palm of her hand, remembering the kiss that Luffy gave her after she had repaired his hat.

"Even so," said Franky, who sat on the bench in front of the steering wheel, "who would've thought that a dog could turn into an eagle after eating a Devil Fruit?"

"The Bird-Bird Fruit; Eagle Model, I believe it's called," said Robin.

**FWAP! FWAP!** The sound of beating wings is heard. Buzz, in his eagle form, rose up from the deck with Schneider on his back. The two flew to their ship and landed on the upper deck.

They looked up the _Thousand Sunny's_ figurehead, where Luffy, whose hat was resting back on its rightful place, and Blizzard are resting.

"Straw Hat!" Schneider called.

"Hmm?" Luffy hummed as he and Blizzard lifted their heads up.

"Sorry to have bothered you," said Schneider.

"What?" Luffy asked. "You guys are leaving, already?"

"Yep," Schneider answered. "I'm thinking about giving pirating another try with Buzz, over here. Right, Buzz?"

**Ruff!** Buzz barked, having gone back to his dog form, wagging his tail happily.

"If we meet again," said Schneider, "don't expect us to go easy on you, you hear?"

"Yeah!" Luffy said. "We'll take you on, anytime! Right, Blizzard?"

**Woof!** Blizzard barked in agreement.

Schneider grinned before he walked to the helm.

"See ya around," he said.

Buzz was about to follow, but then…

**ARF!** Blizzard barked at him.

Buzz looked up to the wolf-dog, who gave a toothy smirk, which he returned.

"Buzz!" Schneider called. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

**RUFF!** Buzz barked before he ran off after him.

The sails were unfurled, and soon, Schneider and Buzz were ready to set sail.

"Ready to go, Buzz?" asked Schneider.

**Arf!** Buzz barked.

And so, Schneider and Buzz sailed off, together, but not before giving these final parting words.

"Straw Hat!" Schneider called.

"Hmm?" Luffy hummed, questioningly.

"You take good care of that hat of yours!"

_**ARROOOOOOOOOO~!**_ Buzz howled.

A pause.

Then, Luffy grinned and chuckled.

"You bet I will!" he said.

**THE END**

* * *

Well, that's the end!

Review, please!


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